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The great saints of old learned the wisdom of having only two days on their calendars: today and
that day (the day they would be with the Lord). If we want a heart of wisdom, we will learn to live each day in light
of that day. When we daily remind ourselves of the purpose for our sojourn here on earth, we will cultivate an eternal
perspective on time; and it will influence our work and all our relationships. God,
in his sovereignty, has given you enough time to accomplish his purposes for your life. His plan has been unfolding since
the beginning of what we call time. His call is for you to discover his plan for your life and act upon it.
However painful it may be, it is beneficial to come to grips with the truth
that we simply do not have sufficient time while on this planet to accomplish all that our hearts desire to do and that we
know we are capable of doing. Because time is such a precious resource, the Bible cautions us to manage it well. For example,
the Apostle Paul makes a critical point in his letter to the Ephesians. He taught the young Christians there to “live
a life worthy of the calling [they had] received” (Ephesians 4:1); to be “imitators
of God” (5:1); to “live as children of light” (v. 8); and “be very careful…how you live –
not as unwise but as wise” (v. 15). He then drove home his primary point, exhorting the Ephesian Christians to “redeem
the time” because of the evil of the day (v. 16). If you wish to avoid being foolish and desire to understand the Lord’s
will, you will redeem (buy, get or win back) the time (v. 17).
Each day is like a microcosm of life. You wake up in
the morning, and your tasks are before you. You have plans at the beginning of the day that you hope to accomplish, but you
don’t know how well they’ll be fulfilled. And by the end of the day, things have rarely turned out precisely as
you planned them. You might meet all your deadlines and attend all your scheduled meetings, but there will be things that
happen during the course of your day which are beyond your control. God
moves with purpose in directing the flow of human history towards his ultimate goal. Likewise, he expects his followers to
live with intentionality, properly stewarding the time allotted to them. Living with a proper perspective on time allows us
to accomplish as much as we can with what we have during the time God gives us (cf. Matthew 25:14-30).
Today, living a life in the Spirit
is not as simple as some may think. The world we live in is filled with injustice, fear, and temptation. As Christians, we
often find obstacles in our paths and need clear understanding of these obstacles and hence be able to deal with them. Some
of these obstacles are:- Worldliness. This is perhaps one of the greatest hindrances to success
and growth today. Far too many Christians fail to succeed and grow as they ought to because the world has too great
of an influence in their lives. They want to serve the Lord, but they don’t want to give up the world in the process.
As a result they seek for a happy medium.
- Distractions. We live in a world that far too
busy. From the time we wake up in the morning until we go to bed, our schedule is micromanaged. We have so many
more things we think we have to do that there is little time left to do things necessary to grow spiritually. We “pencil
in” a little reading time and maybe a short prayer, and a couple of hours of worship each week, but beyond that we are
just too busy to take our spirituality serious.
- Indifference. Such obstacles will get in the way of one’s
own spiritual growth as well as the growth of others. The fact is that many fail to grow because they simply do not
care as they ought to. They know they ought to grow and often they know what they need to
do. They may even be concerned (i.e. worrying) about their spiritual malnutrition. But they do not care enough
to do something about it
- Ignorance is another deterrent to spiritual growth. Satan loves the soul that fails to investigate
truth. He takes delight when someone reasons “I will simply follow my heart” instead of determining whether
or not something is the truth. The Lord spoke of Israel saying, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
Hosea 4:6. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me ‘Lord, Lord’ shall enter the kingdom of
heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.”(Matthew 7:21)
- An improper
mindset. Growth starts in the mind.
I am convinced that most people with the desire to grow who do not start with an attitude that they can’t grow.
They have good intentions, but when they see how much effort it will take, they become overwhelmed. The Bible is a big
book to learn, changing behaviors after years is such a hard thing to do, altering your schedule takes tremendous effort,
etc. The result is many think they cannot grow. Here is a fact: If you don't think you can grow, you are
right (until you change your mind).
- Poor planning. Formulating a plan is not an easy task. Often people
see where they are and where they need to be and they see the huge gap between the two. As a result they are overwhelmed.
Many in discouragement give up. Good planning not only involves the long range goal (growth), but short range goals
and directions on how to get there. Jesus told us to count the cost of serving Him. In Luke 14:26-33 He used the
examples of building a tower and going to war with a smaller army than the enemy. Such efforts require planning.
- Lack of discipline. Implementing plans takes discipline. When we lack spiritual discipline, we are not going to do that which
will promote our growth. We will allow everything that comes along to distract our growth. Everything we start
will either fail to be completed or finished with less than our best. One who lacks discipline is quick tempered, easily
discouraged and led into sin. Because of a lack of self-control, he might set out to do right, but quickly he returns
to his old ways. Satan loves the one who doesn’t have discipline. It doesn’t take much effort for
him keep you from growing.
POSSESSIONS-
Judges 5:17, Luke 12:15
Too many Christians are forsaking the things and call of God in pursuit of a moving target called wealth.
Many well-meaning Christians have bought into this lie that the more you have the more God favors you. As a result many
of them have two to three jobs/businesses just to keep up with the Joneses. And many do it in the name of “I’m
trying to provide for my family.” But there’s a difference between provision and greed. In fact, it’s
a thin line between need and greed.
There’s a difference between a want and a need. Wants are borne out of lust,
while needs are borne out of love. For instance, Adam and Eve wanted the forbidden fruit (out of lust), but God (out
of love) provided for them everything they needed in the Garden (Genesis 3:1-7). Likewise the Israelites in the wilderness
longed for the food they ate in Egypt (out of lust), even though God provided for them manna out of love (Numbers 11:4-35).
We are more obsessed with being blessed than
we are about winning souls for Christ. We are more concerned about what we can get from God, than we are about what
we can do to benefit His Kingdom. Like the rich fool in Luke 12:16-20, we are more concerned about building bigger and
better barns to store our riches, than we are about the eternal destination of other innocent souls.
Without realizing
it, we are being possessed by our obsessions. Whatever obsesses you possesses you. Apostle Paul puts it this way
in Romans 6:16, “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s
slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness?”
PLEASURES- Judges 5:17, Romans 6:12-14 Not everything that is pleasurable is sin,
but even when a pleasure is not sinful in and of itself we can make it a sin by putting indulgence in it a priority before
God, making it an idol we worship ahead of God. Will we have kept the pleasures of life at bay sufficiently
to have done our duty before God and man when our time to depart this world has come? We need to do that, for we read of those
who did not do it in Paul's day, certain widows, of whom he says, "She who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives."
(1 Tim. 5:6 NKJV) The teaching of Jesus is clear, life is to be lived in service to God and man and not for pleasures. Nevertheless,
Pleasure is a good gift from God, designed to renew and satisfy our souls. It draws us to our loving Lord in gratitude, and
helps guard us from illicit temptations that might otherwise pull us away. Rather than always looking on life as a dreary
duty, we should embrace and cultivate God-glorifying pleasure. Wee can do this if we:
Check the level of joy in your life: How much joy do you typically experience? Does your faith give you joy, or has your faith become mostly about
obligation, duty, and responsibility? Recognize that, if your joy level is low, you become especially vulnerable to temptation. Sin
tempts you more when you're feeling deprived than it does when you're satisfied. When you deny yourself appropriate pleasures,
you'll be likely to fall into illicit pleasures. Ask the Holy Spirit to renew your mind: When God gives you his perspective on the pleasures he has created, you can think properly about them
and discover how to use them in the ways He intends. The same pleasure that may draw an unbeliever farther away from God may
draw a Christian closer to God. While enjoying fine art could lead someone else into pornography, for instance, it could lead
you to more fully appreciate how God designed nature. What makes the key difference is how you're approaching a particular
pleasure. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you use each good gift according to God's design for it. Thank God for your blessings: Express your gratitude to God regularly for the things that bring
you pleasure. As you enjoy those things, let them become instruments of praise to God for how generously he has blessed
you. Look for what
pleasures reveal to you about the One who made them:
Pleasures aren't just ends in themselves. They can satisfy you temporarily, but they don't have the power to fulfill
you in any lasting and truly significant ways. However, pleasures can reveal something good about God to you, which can
draw you closer to him when you enjoy them. For example, if you enjoy eating fruit, you can marvel at God's creativity
when you taste the many different varieties of fruit He has created. Let pleasures lead you closer to the God who made
them. Let them become instruments of worship in your life. Fully engage with life's pleasures without falling captive to them: Pray for the courage you need to embrace life's pleasures fully, and
for the self-control you need to enjoy them in moderation. Aim to partake of life's pleasures freely, but without falling
into the excess that can enslave you. Remember that, just as it's unhealthy to enjoy something excessively, it's also
unhealthy to completely prohibit something that God gave you to enjoy. Find healthy alternatives to illicit pleasures: Remember that you're especially vulnerable to the temptation to use
pleasures in sinful ways when you've deprived yourself of healthy pleasures. Ask yourself these questions to gauge the danger
in your life: "Am I consistently tired?", "Do I feel really lonely?", and "Am I living, worshipping,
and ministering out of a sense of joy and delight in the Lord, or do I feel driven by frustration, duty, and obligation?". If
you push yourself too hard or deny yourself healthy pleasures for too long, you can suffer a breakdown spiritually, mentally,
and emotionally. So give yourself regular breaks to engage in pleasurable activities that refresh you. If you're
busy enjoying life in healthy ways, you'll be far less attracted to illicit pleasures than you would be if you deprived yourself. Figure out what you most enjoy: Consider what types of activities give you true and lasting pleasure. What
renews your sense of joy in life? What inspires you so much that it helps you live a faithful life? Make a list
of the activities that come to mind. Then consider how you can start pursuing those activities as often as possible within
your current schedule. Control your pleasures so they won't control you: If you've developed a sense of entitlement to certain pleasures you enjoy regularly, they may have an unhealthy hold
on your life. They also become unhealthy when you feel obsessive, impulsive, or compulsive about them, or they devour
other activities in your life or lead you to bizarre behavior. Plan to fast from them for a period of time. Then, after
taking a break, you can return to those activities free to continue to enjoy them. Make sure that you're always submitting
to God - who is greater than any pleasure - rather than just following where your pleasures lead. Count the cost: Pray for the wisdom to be able to discern when it's worthwhile to pay for an expensive
pleasure (such as a family vacation that will strengthen your relationships) and when it's not. Be willing to make financial
sacrifices in other ways so you can responsibly afford the pleasure that you most value. For example, if you particularly
enjoy wearing expensive clothes, you can better afford them if you save money from eating at home rather than out at restaurants
often. Enjoy time with
your family: Try to make the time you have with
your family as enjoyable as possible. Let your kids relax in your presence and have fun with you regularly. Go out
on dates with your spouse and enjoy sexual intimacy together. Find "pockets of pleasure" in the midst of difficult circumstances: Don't give up on pleasure when you're stuck dealing with tough circumstances,
such as a chronic illness or prolonged season of unemployment. Look for pleasurable activities where you can so you can retain
joy in your life despite your situation. Enjoy humor: Don't deny
yourself the pleasure of laughing often at life's funny moments. Doing so will bring joy into your life each day.
FEAR- Judges 5:18, Hebrews 11:8
Fear
is one factor that can confuse the Christian faith. Yes, even Christians have their own fears, they have dark sides that are
hidden into a place one could not possibly take away except of course by God's hand. But there is a way we can go beyond and
learn from it. We can do so because He gave strength and that strength of a Christian is not a temporal one but it is a strength
that will carry them in any kind of situation that fear can manipulate. It is an eternal blessing.
We have always
marveled on why God allows us to go through certain fear and undergo a certain painful circumstance. I say, just because we
find it difficult to imagine such reason God may have, it does not mean that no such reason exists. Because of the limitations
of the human perspective, we are only able to see a few apparent threads of the great tapestry of life and of the will of
God (if you believe in God). That is why God has called us to trust Him. For a believer, God has a reason for allowing painful
circumstances to come our way – even if we cannot grasp it – by this, our fears involves drawing us closer to
Him.
As God is the author of life, and He is also the author of hope – hope will go above fear and all its
blessings flow from Him.
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